After 3-sack preseason, undrafted rookie David Anenih eager to join Steelers
When David Anenih woke up Wednesday morning in Nashville, little did he know he would be chopping, dipping and ripping in Pittsburgh a day later.
And by Sunday, Anenih might even be plying his go-to “chop, dip and rip” pass-rushing move in his NFL regular-season debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I definitely wanted this opportunity, and I was excited for it,” Anenih said Thursday morning. “It was a no-brainer to come here and play on the ‘53.’ It came together quickly, but I’m excited.”
A rookie outside linebacker, Anenih’s agent called him Wednesday morning to inform him the Steelers wanted to sign him to their 53-man roster off of the Tennessee Titans practice squad.
David Anenih just got here an hour ago. As you might expect he’s excited to be here pic.twitter.com/HtyNAvs7Xn
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 15, 2022
The Steelers need reinforcements at the position after superstar T.J. Watt suffered a pectoral injury that landed him on injured reserve Thursday. Rather than promote from their own practice squad, the Steelers sought out a player who had three sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed over three preseason games last month as an undrafted rookie with the Titans.
“I would say I’m an athletic pass-rusher, can get off the ball with the best of them, turn the corner, real bendy,” said the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Anenih, who had nine sacks in 22 games his final two seasons as a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme at the University of Houston.
Anenih said the Steelers never pursued or talked with him during the pre-draft process, so they clearly were intrigued by his sack production during preseason games.
He joins a position group that almost assuredly will have recent trade acquisition Malik Reed in place of Watt as the starting left outside linebacker opposite second-year starter Alex Highsmith. Jamir Jones is the only other outside linebacker on the 53-man roster, though Delontae Scott and veteran Ryan Anderson are on the practice squad.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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